Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24, published in July 2019, what progress she has made on achieving 100% coverage of 24/7 age-appropriate crisis care via NHS 111.

The National Health Service is on target to deliver 100% coverage across England of age-appropriate mental health crisis care 24 hours a day, seven days a week via NHS 111 by April 2024. The urgent and emergency care recovery plan reiterated this commitment and timescale. Delivering this commitment will enable anyone experiencing mental health crisis to access age-appropriate assessment and, if appropriate, onward referral and treatment at any time of the day by calling NHS 111 'select mental health option'.

In preparation for national launch in April 2024, NHS England asked all systems to transition to offering access to age-appropriate crisis support via NHS 111 ‘select mental health option’. This will act as a soft launch that will flush out and enable automated phone systems to address any issues as and when they occur, before the national launch date.

For those with severe needs or in crisis, urgent mental health helplines are already available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in all areas of England and currently take approximately 200,000 calls a month.